Conte’s Chelsea to run riot against Southampton

Chelsea will anticipate a dominant performance when they host Southampton in a Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, 16 December 2017, kick-off at 17h00 CAT.

Chelsea bounced back to winning form in midweek when they claimed a 3-1 away win at Huddersfield Town – a strong reaction to their surprise 1-0 loss at West Ham United last weekend.

Southampton, by contrast, suffered a humiliating 4-1 home loss at the hands of Leicester City on Wednesday night – a defeat made even more painful by the fact that the Foxes were led by their former manager Claude Puel. It also took the Saints’ winless run in the Premier League to four matches.

Eight places and 17 points separate the teams on the Premier League log: the Blues are third on 35 points, while the Saints have dropped to 11th on 18 points and now have only a four-point buffer to the relegation zone.

Chelsea and Southampton have met in 69 matches across all competitions. The Blues have claimed 32 wins compared to 19 for the Saints, while 18 matches have been drawn.

The teams’ most recent meeting was a Premier League clash in April 2017 which saw Chelsea claim a 4-1 home win Eden Hazard, Gary Cahill and a brace from Diego Costa accounting for the victors’ goals. The Blues have won the last three successive meetings of these teams.